Word Origin & History
aerie
"eagle's nest," 1581 (attested in Anglo-L. from 1224), from O.Fr. aire, from L.L. area "nest of a bird of prey," perhaps from L. area "level ground, garden bed," though some doubt this. Another theory connects it to atrium. Formerly misspelled eyrie (1664) on the mistaken assumption that it derived from M.E. ey "egg."